The US State Department announced Friday, July 30, that Moscow was forcing it to dismiss Russian employees from its diplomatic missions in Russia, warning that their departure would have an impact on US diplomatic operations in the country.
“From August, the Russian government prohibits the United States from employing, hiring or using as temporary staff Russian or from a third country, except for our security services”, Antony Blinken explained in a statement.
As a result, 182 Russian employees and dozens of temporary workers who worked for the US Embassy in Moscow and the Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg consulates will be fired, the secretary of state added.
“The United States will respect their commitment”
“These regrettable measures will have a strong impact on the operations of the American diplomatic mission in Russia, including on the security of our personnel, as well as on our diplomatic exchanges with the Russian government”, he added.
In April, Washington adopted a series of additional sanctions targeting Russia, accusing Moscow of electoral interference and cyber attacks. Ten Russian diplomats had been expelled from the United States and restrictions had been imposed on the purchase of Russian debt for American banks.
Russia responded by expelling ten American diplomats, threatening Washington-funded funds and NGOs, and inadmissibility of several members of Joe Biden’s government.
“While we regret that the Russian government is forcing us to reduce our services and operations, the United States will honor its commitment to seek a stable and predictable relationship with Russia.”, concluded Mr. Blinken.
